“Ah-ha-ha,” Hana laughed awkwardly as she continued to avoid looking Aoi in the eye. “Of course, you all are more important to me. That should be obvious.”
“But the look on your face says the full-course dinner is important, too.”
“Well, I mean…”
Unable to endure her master’s hesitation, Miyabi let out a long sigh and interjected.
“Aoi, I think that’s enough.”
“Aw, come on!”
“This meal is a reward that our master earned by defeating that shade, so you’ll just have to accept that and see her off.”
“Ugh…”
Aoi understood, but he was still upset about being left behind.
“Fine, I get it,” he said reluctantly. In the end, he let her go.
“Thank you, Miyabi. You too, Aoi.”
Hana gave Aoi a pat on the head and picked up her bag.
“Anyway, I have to get going, so don’t cause any trouble while I’m out.”
“Have a pleasant evening, Master.”
“Have a nice time, Master.”
Miyabi smiled softly, Azuha fluttered about, Aoi continued to pout, and Tsubaki clung tightly to her pouty darling with a grin as she waved Hana good-bye.
Sadly, Arashi wasn’t in the room, so Hana couldn’t see his reaction before she left. She didn’t know what he’d been up to lately, but it seemed like he’d been going out every so often. Hana could have located him if she really wanted to, since Arashi was bound to her powers as her shikigami. But she had no intention of telling him what he could and couldn’t do, so she let him roam free.
Saku was already waiting at the front door. He was dressed rather formally as well, in black slacks with a blue blazer.
“Sorry for the wait.”
“Took you long enough.”
“Aoi was making a fuss.”
“Knew it,” Saku said. He’d seen this coming, which was why he had lent Tsubaki in the first place. “You’d better have told him not to cause any trouble.”
“I did. We should be fine.”
“Then, let’s go.”
“Yes, let’s!”
Hana was ecstatic to finally eat her long-awaited high-class French cuisine. She was positively giddy as she stepped into the car.
The restaurant they went to was located in a five-star luxury hotel owned by the Ichinomiya Group. The two were guided to a private room and offered drinks. Saku’s appeared to be champagne, but since Hana was still only eighteen, she was given sparkling apple cider. At least it looked the part next to the champagne Saku was sipping.
“All riiight, cheers!”
The mood for the evening was not set by Saku or Hana, but instead by the energetic voice and the raised glass of Yukizasa. Who was there for some reason.
“What are you doing here?!” Hana shouted. Her eyebrows shot up as she pointed at the uninvited guest.
“Whaaat? I heard this was an apology for what went down, so shouldn’t I be here since I’m a little responsible?”
“No, you shouldn’t! Go home!” Hana yelled. She now viewed Yukizasa’s very presence as a threat, but the man himself just laughed it off like always. Hana pleaded, “Saku, you have to do something about this guy. I didn’t come all this way just to have him spoil my full-course dinner!”
“Hey, do you gotta put it like that? You’re gonna hurt my feelings.”
Or so Yukizasa claimed, but the indomitable grin on his face did little to convince anyone. If anything, he looked like he was enjoying the chaos.
“First, how did you even find out that we’d be coming here?” Saku asked, exasperated by the man drinking champagne with a grin.
“Hey, I’m not the future Sankourou lord for nothing. I’ve got my sources.”
Saku capitulated and sighed deeply.
“I did all that work to get those nosy shikigami to stay home, only for an even bigger pest to tag along…”
“Whoa, isn’t it kinda rude to call me a pest?!”
“It’s what you are. A nuisance trying to butt his way into a married couple’s date.”
Their rapid-fire back-and-forth really spoke to the depth of their bond, but Hana couldn’t care less about that right now.
“Saku, just kick him out already.”
“He’s not the kind of person who listens to words, so we’ll just have to give up.”
“Awww…”
Hana instantly let out a very disgruntled whine. Even her expression made it clear how incredibly disgusted she was. But reading social cues wasn’t a skill of Yukizasa’s, so he continued to down his champagne and even asked for a refill.
“C’mon, Saku, what’s the big deal? She’s your wife, so that basically makes me and her family! And hey, you can call me Big Bro anytime you want.”
“Nooo thank you!” Hana spat.
“Quit pushing your luck, idiot,” Saku growled.
The icy glares and venomous rebukes from Hana and Saku failed to make Yukizasa so much as flinch. He chuckled, to the point where the two started to worry that he was already drunk.
“Stop laughing and get lost! I’ve been looking forward to this, so I don’t want you ruining it!”
Hana wouldn’t be able to enjoy her dinner when just seeing Yukizasa’s face made her stomach churn. She hadn’t forgotten the incident with the shade; Hana was the type to hold a grudge.
But then Yukizasa pulled what appeared to be a ticket from the inner pocket of his jacket.
“Here, I’ll give you this, so cut me some slack.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a special ticket that gets you free meals pretty much for life at a café in one of our Sankourou-operated hotels. There’ll always be some seats left open for you, so you can go whenever you like and even bring a few friends. It’s a pretty popular place, too; there’ve been TV specials talking about its afternoon tea.”
“Wait…is that café…?”
Shock hit Hana like a bolt of lightning coursing through her veins.
Hana knew this café. Rumor had it that it was so popular, it was almost impossible to get a reservation. Their decor changed with the seasons, and she’d even talked with her friend Suzu before about wanting to go there to try their afternoon tea, which was supposed to taste as luxurious as it looked.
“You’re really giving this to me?”
“If you let me join you for dinner.”
“Why, you’re always welcome here!”
Hana smiled widely and switched to a high-pitched, honey-sweet tone. Saku was irritated by her quick change in tune.
“How self-serving can you be…?”
“Come on, Saku. This restaurant’s infamous for how hard it is to secure a reservation! If it means getting the chance to visit whenever I want, then of course I’m gonna start kissing up!”
“The Ichinomiya bride isn’t supposed to kiss up over nothing! Have some dignity!”
Saku’s sharp critique went in one ear and out the other. Hana was quite satisfied now that she had Yukizasa’s ticket in hand.
“Dignity doesn’t fill an empty stomach!”
“And hey, it’s also a bit of an apology about before,” Yukizasa admitted.
“Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh. Well, these things happen, so it’s water under the bridge.”